I’m exploring how to add an AI chatbot to a PHP-based web application and would like some advice from developers who have implemented something similar.
The chatbot needs to maintain conversation context, answer questions using application-specific data, and securely communicate with the backend. I’m considering connecting a PHP application directly to an LLM API, but I’m also wondering whether using a separate AI service between the PHP backend and the model would be a better architecture.
How would you recommend handling conversation history, API authentication, user data privacy, and response streaming in a PHP application?
Would a framework such as Laravel make this integration significantly easier, or can a well-structured PHP application handle these requirements without an additional framework?
What approach has worked well for you when integrating AI chatbots into PHP applications?